Orange County
by teganquins
Summary: This is a Finn and Rachel multi-chapter story. It's loosely based on The OC's Seth and Summer relationship. There is some Pezberry friendship and Pucktana as well. I hope you enjoy it : It's my first one!
1. Chapter 1

There were few things that Rachel liked about Orange County, in fact if she had it her way, she would up and move just about anywhere else in the world and be happy about it. There were few upsides about living in the suburbs of the OC, and no, one of them wasn't the overly large house her and her dads lived in, it was sailing. Feeling the cool breeze through her hair and the fact that she could get away and not be bothered. But most of all it was the peace and tranquility she felt every time she pulled away from the dock and let the wind carry her. School was out for the summer so the beach was filled. Rachel had to go out in the ocean pretty far to get away from her peers who insisted on only riding the loudest and obviously most expensive boats. It wasn't a particularly windy day so she laid back against the floor of her boat as it simply rode the tide slowly.

Her eyes fell close as she took in the rays of the sun and began to sing. She rarely sang in front of anyone except for her dads, she didn't have really any friends in Orange County. She always felt like she didn't belong, and it may be conceded of her, but she knew she was too good for this place. It was filled with mediocre students, with rich daddies who bought them everything they wanted. No one had dreams here, no one had ambition, they all lived off of their trust funds and that was as good as it was going to get for them, and what made it worse, was that they were perfectly content on this being their lives. Sure Rachel's dads were probably the two richest men in all of Orange County, but she had bigger dreams than her father's money, and it was New York. The minute…no, the second she gets her diploma, she's getting in her car and driving across the country all the way to Broadway, she only had one more summer and one more school year to get through, and she would be free.

There was a loud roar that filled the air, and ruined Rachel's singing. She sat up with a groan to see what, or who for that matter was interrupting her bliss. She raised her sunglasses off her head to get a better look at who was going by. She felt a tight pang of her heart when she saw who was driving the boat, Finn Hudson. Rachel couldn't even remember a time when she wasn't madly in love with Finn, she was pretty sure she'd been in love with him since the first time they met in Kindergarten. She felt her cheeks go a light shade of red as him and his friend Puck, also his girlfriend Quinn, came closer to her, she always felt self-conscious when Finn was around her boat, not that he'd notice her anyways, but she was embarrassed to admit that it was in fact named after him. Her dads had bought it for her, for her Bat mitzvah and she took it to the shop to get the name painted onto the side a few days later, _Finness. _The artist had looked at her funny when she requested it to be spelled with two Ns but she knew it had to be done.

It was as if she was watching an action movie's opening scene where the handsome male lead rode his motor boat in style while the wind blew into his hair and made it even more perfect rather than messy. Finn's laugh was soaring into the wind and she was grateful that they were coming closer to her so she could hear it more clearly. He was wearing a tight white V-neck and she was bit her lip at the fact that it was a little wet and she could easily see the contour of his abs, how she longed for him to just hold her in his thick muscular arms, or run his large hands down her body and kiss her with all the force in the world.

"What are you starring at, Loser?" Rachel shook her head, coming back to reality as she tried to think out a response, "uh…" Finn had slowed the boat in front of her and Quinn and Puck were holding in their laughter as they starred at her, "I said what. Are. You. Starring. At. Loser" Quinn paused after each word as if Rachel didn't hear comprehend what she was saying. They were all starring at her and Rachel wished she would have been anywhere but there, why did they have to ruin her perfect place? No one ever came this far out into the ocean, yet here they were. Rachel didn't even bother responding to them, all she could see was the way Quinn clung to Finn like she would fall off the massive boat if she didn't firmly grip his arm. "Come on baby, I wanna go to Rickard's Cliff," Quinn pouted as Finn revved the engine of the boat and began to pull it away from her, "What a freak, who is that girl anyway?" Finn said with a laugh as he swiftly turned the boat, causing a massive wave to come up and drench Rachel. She could see all three of them looking back, as she sat in the middle of her small sailboat covered in water. Their laughter began to fade as the rode off further down the ocean.

It probably wasn't the most rational…or sane thing for that matter to be in love with Finn. He didn't even know Rachel's name. They had been going to the same school, in the same grade since elementary school, and he still had no clue who she even was. But she understood, he was popular; captain and quarterback of the football team, why would he even know someone like Rachel? She didn't socialize at school, had absolutely zero friends, so why would he notice her? She couldn't help but be hopelessly in love with him either, and every time she would see him smile or hear him laugh, exposing the deep dimples he had on either cheek, she felt something, something that she obviously couldn't ignore. It didn't matter though, being in love with him, he didn't know it, and she had no choice but to love him from afar.

Drenched, Rachel decided to head in back to the dock. She tied up Finness and began to walk back to the gated crescent she lived on. There were only two houses on it and one belonged to Puck, who's dad was this broker or something, she really didn't pay attention though, he was just another spoiled Orange County kid that thought Rachel was invisible. She walked into her house and saw her dad, Leroy working on a model home in the living room. Her grandfather was the owner of the biggest real estate company in Orange County, he basically owned the entire county, and her dad was his partner. She walked into the kitchen to see her other father sitting at the table, "Hey daddy" she said nonchalantly as she opened the fridge to get a drink, "Hey, why are you soaking wet!" he questioned, "did you fall off or something?" Rachel rolled her eyes before turning back to her dad, "yeah, you know what it could have been that, or…" Rachel tapped her chin, pretending to think when suddenly she snapped her fingers, "Nope I got it…it was the massive wave that mysteriously came out of nowhere." She groaned as she walked out of the kitchen.

Rachel's dads weren't oblivious to the fact that she hated Orange County; she wasn't shy about mentioning it every time she could. They were also aware of her lack of social life and friends, how could they not when their daughter spent most of her time in her room either studying or singing? "Rachel wait, there's something your father and I want to talk to you about…" Her dad tried to catch her before she went into the living room but it was too late. Rachel walked in to see a tall and lean girl sitting on the couch. She had darker skin and Rachel assumed she was Italian…or perhaps maybe Latina? The girl sat with her elbow on the armrest of the couch and her chin firmly placed in her palm. She was pissed off, Rachel could tell just by looking at her. "This is Santana Lopez, she's one of my clients." Her daddy said cautiously. Her dad was a public defender, he usually dealt with cases regarding troubled youth, but he never brought one home before. "She'll be staying here just for a few days until I can get in contact with her father." Rachel walked over to her and put out her hand, "hey…um…I'm Rachel" she didn't know why but she was nervous, it's not like she expected this girl to stab her right there or anything but she was still hesitant about talking to her. The Latina raised her head from her hand and looked Rachel up and down; she didn't say anything as she loosely shook her hand. Rachel didn't know it, but the second she shook the girl's hand...her life was about to change.


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel stood awkwardly in front of the Latina, who to Rachel's surprise was actually quite beautiful when you get closer to her. She wore a lot of dark makeup that hid her features, but once she got a better look, you could easily see the beauty.

Her skin looked really soft, the colour was dark and the texture looked creamy. Rachel had the littlest urge to touch her, but she thought it was best if she kept her hands to herself, didn't want to end up with a broken nose or something. Rachel turned back to see that her dad had left, leaving her alone with Santana, well at least he trusted her enough to not stab his only kid, Rachel took that as a good sign and sat down next to her on the couch.

"So…" Rachel let her word hang in the air for a moment, hoping that the girl beside her would jump in. She wasn't exactly used to interacting with people her own age. She knew herself too, if it stayed quiet too long, she would start to feel weird and maybe start asking inappropriate questions and 'so what did you do to mess up so bad to get yourself put in Juvie that my dad had to bail you out?' was probably not one of things she should ask if she wanted to make it through the day without getting strangled.

"So how old are you?" Rachel asked a little bit more enthusiastic than she should have; she really was terrible at socializing. The Latina merely looked at her for a moment with zero expression on her face and then turned her attention back to whatever she was starring at on the wall. Rachel nodded and looked around as if the answers on how to break the tension were somehow written on the wall.

The two of them sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, and Rachel was surprised at herself that she managed to stay so quiet. Usually in awkward situations she would talk herself into a hole making things worse. It wasn't something liked about herself, but she couldn't help it.

"Hiram, did you not think about Rachel for five seconds before you brought that girl here? Who knows what kind of influence she could have!" Rachel turned her head to the sound of her Father's voice coming from the kitchen. "They have this tendency to think that because I'm in the other room, I can't hear them…" she looked over at Santana who was now starring right at Rachel, "Sometimes it can get pretty entertaining, this one has both of us as the main topic, things can get good"

"Would you just calm down, Leroy! She had no where else to go, she has no family!" The Latina bowed her head at the words coming from the kitchen and started to fidget with her fingers, "Um…" Rachel could see Santana's visible discomfort and decided to maybe distract her, "Do you like Broadway Santana? Because you look like someone who can get into a good musical." She said to brighten up the mood, even though Santana still looked like she was ready to run out of there and never come back. Rachel wouldn't blame her either if she did that, she would probably be right behind her.

"That is not your job to open our house to her, Hiram! What if she harms someone? Or steals something?" Rachel turned up the TV louder in hopes to drown out the sounds coming from the kitchen.

"You didn't see her in there, she was going to get killed! She's a good kid; she's not going to harm anyone! Would you stop being like this? It's only for a few days, her mother kicked her out, and I'm trying my best to get a hold of her dad, but who knows what he's like!" Rachel fidgeted in her seat, trying to think of something to make all of this stop, "You know what would be fun, a nice boat ride on the ocean, common, we're going sailing"

The two girls walked out of the house and began making their way to the docks, "You don't talk much do you?" Rachel asked, she was so used to everyone being so loud at school, she didn't know people her age could even be this quiet, unless Santana was plotting her murder and how to get away with it with minimal evidence…Rachel pushed that thought out of her head before she turned and ran screaming.

They got to her boat and Rachel began to set up the sails, "it's spelt wrong" Rachel turned her head quickly as the light sound came from Santana's mouth, she was kind of surprised she didn't have an accent or something.

"What?" Rachel asked confused as she tied one of the ropes to the sail down.

"_Finnesse_...there's only one N in Finesse" she swayed on her heals on the dock pointing at the side of the boat where the name was written, looking at Rachel and waiting for an answer.

"I know…but…" Rachel was a little taken off guard, no one has asked her about the name of her boat before, no one even seemed to notice it was misspelled, or they didn't notice her, she couldn't quite tell. "It's uh…It's just a long story, just get in."

Santana got in without a problem, usually Rachel would see girls shrieking when getting on sailboats, that they needed their boyfriend to 'help' cause they were too 'scared'.

It was silent as Rachel rode the tides, leading them far out in the ocean to not be bothered, she was half worried they would run into Finn and his friends again, but she didn't dwell too much on that.

"It's named after a guy" Rachel said quietly, she didn't know why but she felt comfortable with Santana, which seemed odd because she really didn't know anything about her, for all she knew she was in Juvie for murdering a short brunette who talked a lot, out in the ocean and all that was left was her sailboat.

"Your boyfriend or something?" Santana questioned, starting to get more comfortable with actually talking.

"No…nothing like that…well I mean, yeah it's like romantic or something just…" Rachel paused as she stumbled on her words, trying to find the right ones to properly get her point across, "He doesn't exactly know who I am…well I mean, we go to the same school and stuff, lived in the same place for all of our lives…" Rachel nodded lightly, "He will realize he's too good for these people in Newport and run away with me to New York" Rachel looked out into the ocean as the reoccurring fantasy of her and Finn living in New York played in her head. She quickly remember the fact that she was not alone, "Or…something…I don't know, I haven't thought that much about it…His um…His name if Finn by the way, in case you wanted to know, not that I think you're interested…or not interested, just…if you wanted to know, not that it's like valuable information for you or anything…I don't know."

Santana looked at Rachel with a raised eyebrow as she began to ramble, "I may not talk a lot, but damn…you don't shut up, do you?"

"Nah, not really…I'm usually used to talking to myself…" Rachel squinted her eyes as she realized what she just said; "I'm not crazy though, I swear."

After a few hours Rachel decided it was time to head in, "I figure the coast is clear that we can go inside without it getting awkward" she said reassuringly as they walked back up to the house.

"You go ahead, I'm just gonna stay here and have a smoke." Santana pushed a cigarette in between her lips as she took out her lighter.

"Cool…yeah…smoking, that's cool…um yeah not for me, trying to quit" Rachel laughed nervously, she's never really been around anyone who smoked, "You have fun though, I'll uh…be inside, enjoy your _'rigg' _I think that's what those crazy kids call it these days."

Santana gave her the raised eyebrow look again, the same one she used when Rachel was rambling on the boat, which for her was her cue to leave and get back inside.

Rachel headed inside and found that her dads were either in bed or in the backyard; she didn't really feel like looking for them though. It had gotten pretty late, 10:30 on a warm Friday night. She turned on the TV and began to watch whatever was on, she didn't really know, her mind was on the fact that she actually communicated and 'hung out' with someone her own age. She always figured that would happen in New York, when she was around people who were more like her, instead of in Newport. She was planning on just rolling with this newfound 'friendship' or whatever this was, her dad had said she was just staying for a few days, though she kind of didn't want her to leave. They merely only spent an afternoon together, but it was the first time in a really long time, Rachel didn't feel so alone.

"Hey…so there's a party, you wanna go?" Rachel looked up to see Santana standing against the frame to the living room.

"What do you mean there's a party?" Santana walked over to Rachel on the couch and sat down.

"I don't know that guy Puck next door invited me to one, some girl Brittany's house?" Santana shrugged, "so are we going or not?"

Rachel quickly began to shake her head, "Wait, wait, wait, Puck? How did you meet him? How long were you out there that he just invited you to a party?"

Santana shrugged her shoulders again, it almost seemed like she was trying not to laugh, "I don't know I went out for a smoke, he asked if he could have one…we started talking, he invited me to a party, he's kind of hot"

Rachel groaned as she sat up from the couch, "you're here for five seconds and you get invited to a party by one of the most popular guys at my school…" she shook her head again, "I'm not even gonna question your abilities…but a party…I don't know." She's never been to a party in high school before, and she can only imagine what it would be like, her standing against a wall not talking to anybody as she watched everyone she hated dance to terrible music and get drunk. Watching Funny Girl for the 57th time sounded more appealing.

"I'm sure it won't be bad…and Puck is Finn's best friend right? I'm sure he's gonna be there…." That caught Rachel's attention.

"Why do you want to go so bad anyways, a few hours ago you weren't even speaking, and now you want to go to party? With a bunch of rich white kids?" Rachel questioned.

"Because…I want to see what all the fuss is about, I'm from Chino…I hear about these Newport parties" Santana shrugged as she stood up from the couch, "So let's just go, we don't have to stay long."

Rachel thought about it some more before pulling herself off the couch, "Okay, I'll go." Maybe she would see Finn, or talk to him, she never found an opportunity to do that at school, maybe she would there.

Rachel started to think about all the scenarios that could happen between her and Finn tonight and she couldn't help but get a little excited that she was actually going to be at the same party as him, who knows what could happen, right?


	3. Chapter 3

Rachel pulled herself off the couch after agreeing to go to the party with Santana. She still didn't understand what she could have said to her neighbor Puck to make him invite her so quickly, but she chose not to question it.

After changing into a loose sweater and skirt Rachel walked out of her to go downstairs. She saw that there wasn't any light coming from under her Dads' bedroom door and she wasn't sure whether she should wake and tell them where she was going or not.

Going to parties without her parents was a foreign concept for Rachel. Her dad was part of the Newport Group, which meant she went to a lot of events with them, but going to a party hosted by a girl in her high school wasn't something she did…ever.

Not wanting to wake her parent she decided to just tell them in the morning that she went out, they never made any sort of limits for what Rachel could or couldn't do when going out, or curfews, so it's wasn't as though she was breaking any rules, right?

Making her way downstairs, she saw Santana emerge from the back door, who had just changed her clothes in the pool house. Her Dad, Leroy set her up in there, he claims it's for privacy but everyone knows he's still nervous about having Santana in the house, even though it is only for a few days.

"You ready to go?" Santana asked while adjusting the white v-neck that she had just put on. It was very tight and her boobs were flowing out of the top. Rachel took a second to look down at her knit sweater, feeling slightly jealous of the Latina's body type.

"Did you get a boob job?" Rachel exclaimed, pointing at Santana's chest, she was completely oblivious to just how rude her comment was.

"Yeah, so what?" Santana folded her arms in front of her chest and glared at Rachel, becoming completely defensive.

"Whoa, sorry it was just a question" Rachel felt the awkwardness and tension start to rise as the two made their way out of the house and towards her car.

The drive to Brittany's house wasn't very long, and it started out extremely quiet. Rachel's mind was running wild on what she would do when she got there, or what she would do when…or if she saw Finn.

"Do you think I should just go up and talk to him? What should I say? Should I talk about football? hmm….that wouldn't work, I don't really know much about football. Should I tell him about my boat? Nah…that would probably lead to talking about the name, I don't really think I'm ready for him to know that it's named after him." Santana could hardly get a word in with Rachel running her mouth.

Santana rolled her eyes and stayed quiet, until they pulled onto the street where the party was. "I don't even know the guy, do whatever you want," Santana said with a shrug before getting out of the car.

They both walked into the house and the music was blearing. Rachel could feel the base of the stereo pumping through her body as it vibrated the floor beneath her. How could anyone even have a decent conversation with music so loud? A few people were looking in their direction as Rachel stood awkwardly by the wall, just like she knew she would. She began to scan the room and could see groups of people either on the couch, against the walls or in the kitchen. Everyone was either drinking, drunk or on their way to getting drunk.

Peering over the tops of people's head she could see Finn across the room talking to a few guys she recognized from her classes. Her heart began to pound in her chest as soon as she looked at him, she couldn't even stop the strong reactions she would get when she simply saw his face. She saw him begin to laugh at whatever one of his friends said and she couldn't help but smile when his dimples became visible on either side of his cheeks. "Okay, I'm going to do it…just go up to him…" Rachel looked beside her and realized that Santana wasn't there anymore. She took a deep breath and began to walk towards Finn.

Halfway towards him Rachel chickened out, she moved to the side and away from crowds of people and swallowed hard. She couldn't do this, was she crazy? What was she even going to say to him? She looked over and saw his friends walk away from him, leaving him alone against a wall sipping a few sips of his beer. "It's now or never," she whispered to herself as she pushed off the wall and walked towards him.

"Hi!" She said a little bit too cheery as Finn looked down at her. He didn't say anything as he looked at his beer. Her cheeks began to turn red, she thought he'd have more to say or something, "I'm uh…Rachel…remember from the boat today…you um, splashed me with the water…that was funny" she laughed nervously as she motioned a wave movement with her hand.

"Okay?" Finn raised his eyebrow as he looked down at her, their eyes met for a second and Rachel thought she was going to melt right then and there.

"So, this is a great party!" she began to fidget with the hem of her shirt as she looked around the room.

"Why are you talking to me?" Rachel looked up to see Finn's eyes on her, his expression anything but affectionate as his friends came back towards him.

"Yo Hudson! What the fuck are you doing talking to that loser from school?" Rachel felt her heart start to pound hard in her chest, so much so she could hear it in her ears.

"I don't fucking know man, she just came up to me and started talking about waves or some shit" everyone looked over at Rachel and she could feel the blood rising to her cheeks and the sweat pool on her neck.

"Oh, man who's that chick over there" Rachel saw whom Finn was pointing at to see Santana standing against the sink in the kitchen.

"I don't know man, I saw Puck talking to her though" Rachel was watching everything unfold in front of her eyes, she wanted to be anywhere but where she was in that moment.

"Oh fuck that, she's way too hot to be with Puck, I'm going to go talk to her, maybe show her a little Hudson hospitality." Finn looked over at Rachel who was still standing right next to him, "Why are you still here?"

Rachel felt her eyes well up with tears as she watched Finn approach Santana; she made eye contact with the Latina as Finn ran his finger up her arm. She hardly even knew the girl, but suddenly she felt regret in ever feeling like she could be friends with her.

It was probably irrational to be upset with Santana, but she couldn't help it. Her jealousy got the best of her as Santana pushed past Finn and came towards her. "Don't talk to me," Rachel said quietly as she began to walk outside. Santana reached for her arm, and Rachel pulled back quickly, "Stop! Just go back to Chino!"

Santana stopped dead as people around them started to whisper, "ew Chino?" one of the blondes in the corner laughed out. Rachel practically ran towards the beach, she didn't know where she was going but she knew she needed to get away from the house.

"I should have never even left my house!" she said angrily to herself. Rachel was mentally kicking herself as she replayed what happened in her head, she should have stuck to loving from afar, because that's all she was ever going to do with Finn Hudson.

"Well, well look what we have here…" Rachel turned her head to see Quinn and a few other girls coming her way. She could smell something foul in the air and she figured it was drugs or something, even though she's never been around it before.

"Just leave me alone" Rachel spat back, not in any mood to get involved in anything.

"Awww is someone about to cry?" Quinn said with a laugh. Rachel turned and could see her eyes glazed over and was swaying a bit. Rachel didn't have much experience with drugs, but she knew she took something more than just a few tokes of weed.

The girls started to circle Rachel and she began to get a little nervous, they all had this look in their eye that made her wish she had gone to her car than to the beach.

"What's a fucking loser like you doing here anyway? You're not wanted here, get the fuck out" Rachel stumbled back into a girl she didn't know the name of as Quinn pushed her.

"Stop, just leave me alone!" Rachel cried out as the girls took turns pushing her around.

"You don't belong here, just go home" Quinn pushed with all her force and Rachel lost her footing in the sand and fell back, her head hitting a rock, hard.

Rachel felt the pain instantly as she touched the back of her head with a groan and she felt the warm wetness of the blood. In a haze she looked up to see Santana in the middle of all the girls, fighting them off one by one. She couldn't keep up with what was going on but she looked up at Santana as she approached her, a little in awe that she just did all of that for her when she could have easily gone home.

Santana put out her hand and Rachel grabbed it, "Common we gotta get out of here!"

Rachel turned back to see a group of guys and a few girls coming their way, "That was…" she began to say as they ran away, "AWESOME!" Rachel started to replay the scene of Santana fighting off those girls in her head, "the way you got up all in their faces and pretty much single handily kicked all of their asses…man, you're such badass"

They both made their way to Rachel's car and she drove off quickly. Rachel grabbed a towel she had from sailing in the back seat and quickly applied it to her head to stop the bleeding. The ride was silent for a moment before Santana spoke up, "I'm sorry"

"Don't be, I'm sorry…I shouldn't have said go back to Chino, it wasn't your fault" Rachel bit the inside of her cheek thinking about how Finn treated her tonight.

"That Finn guy is a real asshole by the way, you can do better" Santana offered and Rachel just scoffed.

"Yeah…sure" Rachel almost laughed, if she could just not be in love with Finn, she would, but to her it just seemed pretty impossible at this point. No matter how badly he treated her, she still managed to be in love with him with everything she had.


	4. Chapter 4

Grounded. That was a new concept for Rachel, but it was exactly what she was, for two weeks straight. No sailing, no car, no phone and no going out (though that was kind of an unnecessary rule in her case) for 14 days.

Progress was being made in Santana's case though, Hiram Berry was able to track down her father, unfortunately for her, he was in prison. They tried driving to her house in Chino to check on her mom, but she was nowhere to be found. To Leroy Berry's dismay Santana has been staying in the Berry's pool house for the last 14 days.

Rachel couldn't have been happier to have Santana stay with them longer, she really liked her. Ever since she single handily saved her ass from Quinn and her friends, they've been bonding a lot. Sure their personalities clashed, Rachel talked a lot, was very self-centered and had a hard time with the "listening" concept but they made it work.

The two girls were out in the pool lounging, pretty much all they've been doing for the past two weeks, when Rachel began to talk about Finn…shocker. "So I mean…maybe if I get him alone, alone...like without his friends there, it'll be better." She didn't know who she was trying to convince more, herself or Santana. Rachel had been talking non-stop for the past 14 days about what happened with Finn, and how it wasn't his fault, and she was constantly giving him the benefit of the doubt, she really couldn't help it. Even when Santana would get in a few words to say that he was just a jerk, Rachel would ignore her and tell her she was wrong.

It was silent for a few moments when Rachel turned and pushed herself off the wall of the pool to get closer to Santana, "so what's with you and Noah?" she questioned. She saw Noah coming out of their pool house a few days ago and has been meaning to ask.

Rachel watched as Santana bit her lip, trying to hide a smile. "Whoa…you're about to smile aren't you?" she teased, hardly ever seeing Santana smile.

"It's nothing really…just…" Santana paused to think a moment when Rachel's dad came outside.

"Girls! Time to get out…we have a guest" Rachel could see the visible smirk on Leroy's face and she was curious to see who was there to make him so happy.

Rachel followed Santana into the house and looked up when she heard a woman's think Spanish accent.

"Santana! My baby!" The woman looked exactly like Santana, only a little shorter, and had heavy bags underneath her eyes. The woman embraced Santana with an awkward hug and Rachel stood back. She looked over at her father who couldn't even hide his huge grin anymore, knowing that Santana's mother had come to take her home.

Rachel felt a little sick actually, Chino was two and a half hours away, if Santana was going home, she'd never see her. She didn't want to see Santana go, especially to a woman who abandoned her in the first place, who's to say she wouldn't do it again? Who's to say she wouldn't leave her on the streets again, forcing her to rob a convenience store just to get something to eat?

"Would you like anything to drink Mrs. Lopez?" Leroy asked still sporting the over enthusiastic smile that Rachel had a bit of an urge to wipe of his face.

"Anything with Vodka in it" The room went silent as everyone looked at Mrs. Lopez. Rachel starred at the clock, 11:34, and she wanted alcohol? It wasn't even noon yet.

Hiram went to go get Santana's mom her drink as they all made their way outside to sit and get acquainted. Rachel sat with her arms across her chest, visibly upset that the only person she felt normal with was about to be leaving.

"Santana, baby…sweetheart," Santana looked at her mom with a defensive look on her face which put Rachel at ease. At least she didn't fully trust her either. "I know I shouldn't have left, but…it was all Mark's idea, he said that we'd come back for you babe, but we got lost and…"

Rachel hung her mouth open in disbelief, was anyone believing this crap? The woman stumbled on her excuses for leaving her 17 year old kid behind to fend for herself, "but I promise…I'm clean, no more of the hard stuff alright, let's just start over…you and I"

Rachel watched in horror as the corner of Santana's mouth pulled into a smile, she was falling for it? Rachel's known the woman for 15 minutes and already knew she's not being totally honest.

"So what do you say we go home?" Rachel panicked a bit, she couldn't just leave. Santana and her mom began to get up from the table, "it was nice of you guys to take me in these past two weeks" Santana said quietly.

"Wait" Rachel said suddenly, racking her brain to find a way for them to stay a bit longer, as if it was going to accomplish anything, why would Santana stay when her mother was going to bring her home? Everyone needed a parent, right?

"Dad…isn't there that um…Vegas night for the Newport group tonight?" Rachel ignored the look of anger on her dad's face that he was trying to suppress,

"Uh…" he tried to come up with something, knowing his daughter's plan right away, but couldn't think of anything, "Yeah, why?" he asked nervously.

"Well why don't you guys come with us? It'll be fun, a little fake gambling never hurt anyone" Rachel smiled brightly, trying to encourage Santana's mom to go.

"Oh I wouldn't want to impose…" the older Latina began to say.

"No imposition whatsoever!" Rachel felt her dad lightly kick her under the table and she turned to her dad with her smile bigger than ever. "Right dad?"

"Sure…it'll be fun" He said through gritted teeth, trying his best to put on a smile.

All four of them began to get ready for the Vegas night. Rachel went to go meet Santana in the pool house; she sat on the bed and waited for her to get out of the bathroom. "I don't know if the dress will fit…I'm a little boob-deprived so it might be tight in the chest area" Rachel called to Santana. Being grounded meant no car which meant no shopping so Rachel had to lend Santana and her mom both dresses for tonight.

Santana came from the bathroom wearing one of Rachel's black with white polka dot dresses. It looked a little funny on Santana, seeing as she's a sexy girl and that dress was anything but sexy, but somehow she made it work.

"So…your mom's back…" Rachel tested while they had time alone without her mom around.

"Yeah! Isn't it great! I get to go home!" Rachel was shocked at her enthusiasm; she can't say she's ever seen that side of Santana. "I mean not that I didn't like staying here, cause I did…I mean look at this place, it's paradise, but you and I both know I don't belong." Santana added seriously.

Rachel just looked at her, she selfishly wanted Santana to stay, but knew if she was going to be with a family, it might as well be her real one.

"You girls ready to go?" Her dad, Hiram poked his head through the door and waved them to get going.

Rachel and Santana made their way to the house where they were met by their parents. They all piled into the car and went to the hall where the event was taken place.

"So who's going to be at this thing?" Santana questioned from the backseat.

"Oh it'll be pretty much everyone from that party, just um…more behaved and with their parents…and Noah will be there." Rachel saw the small smirk forming on Santana's face.

Finn was going to be there, she knew that for sure. She wasn't entirely sure of her game plan, but he was going to be there, and that was good enough for her. It's been almost 2 weeks since she's even seen his face.

They all arrived at the hall and Rachel took a deep breath and scanned the room. There wasn't a party hosted by the Newport Group that wasn't overly expensive and extremely unnecessary, Rachel always hated going to these things. She would usually spend her time sitting at the bar drinking diet cokes all night while watching her stuck-up rich peers enjoy themselves. But tonight was different, tonight she was stalling Santana and her mom from leaving, hey maybe her mom will decide she liked Newport and want to stay?

Rachel snapped out of her thoughts and looked around her and realized everyone was gone. Her dads went to go to talk to other parents, Santana was making her way to Puck at the craps table and Santana's mom…actually she had no clue where she went.

Rachel sighed, another night of being alone. She still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Santana had already befriended one of the most popular guys in her school so quickly. She was a little jealous, but it didn't affect their friendship.

She walked over to the slots and leaned her back against one, looking around the room in front of her to see if Finn had arrived. She was curious as to why he wasn't there yet, all of his friends were, and these events were nothing to miss. She reached back and rested her hand against one of the levers to a slot machine, without looking.

Rachel felt the tug of the lever, which her hand was still resting on and looked to see Finn pulling it without looking to see who's hand was on it. They starred at machine as it began to make noises. _Cherry, Cherry, Cherry._ The machine went nuts, bells and whistles going off along with flashing lights coming from the top of the machine. Finn jumped up from the seat in front of the machine, "Holy fuck!" he said with a huge grin on his face. Rachel looked up at him and smiled as he pumped his fists.

A group of people caught Rachel's eye as she looked past Finn, who was still in awe at his win. He was like a little kid in an arcade and couldn't have looked more adorable, she was convinced that, that was the real Finn she was seeing. His friends started to come closer, not wanting a reenactment of their night at the party, Rachel figured she'd better leave. She turned to walk away when she felt a hand grab hers. She turned slowly and came face to face with Finn, who still had a firm grip on her hand.

"Hey, where do you think you're going? You just helped me win…let's test our luck again" Rachel couldn't even speak as she listened to his husky voice, her mouth went dry, and her knees weak, if she couldn't hear her heart pound in her ears, she would be convinced that she was dead.


	5. Chapter 5

Fantasizing was something Rachel did often, probably too often, but what else did she have? Reality wasn't going her way most of the time; she had to turn to something, something to make her happy, even if it was just for a few moments.

Finn pulled her in tighter to his side as she sat on his lap, "come on babe…we need to win" he whispered in her ear, "you're my good luck charm" he kissed her cheek and her face was set a blaze. The overwhelming sensation of just the simplest touch caused Rachel to lose her breath for just a moment.

Rachel reached up to pull the lever as Finn placed his large warm hand on top of hers, as they been doing for hours now, winning constantly. They've never lost while pulling the lever at the same time, it was incredible, their luck.

They won once again, only a small prize, but their streak together still continued. "What would I do without you?" Finn turned her face as he placed his palm against her cheek, forcing their eyes to meet. Rachel was lost in the dark brown orbs that were starring back at her. She could feel his warm breath against her face as they were inches apart from one another.

A wave of emotions ran through Rachel's veins, she felt more alive in that moment than she has ever felt. His other hand danced along the skin of her exposed leg, her dress a little hiked up her thighs. Each touch of her skin by his hands left goose bumps. She's never felt this before, the overbearing need to feel him, anywhere, just to feel him closer to her, to be wrapped up into him and to never be let go.

His eyes wandered from hers down to her lips as he leaned closer. She couldn't help but swallow hard and get nervous; she's never kissed anyone before. Her eyes fell close and the sounds of the loud mockup-casino room disappeared. All she could hear was his steady breath, and the thump of her heart as it pounded through her ears.

12 years. Rachel has waited 12 years to kiss Finn Hudson, to be with Finn and to have his big arms hold her. Ever since she saw him in her kindergarten class 12 years ago, she was hooked, he consumed her every thought, her every dream, her every fantasy.

The funny thing about fantasies, they never last…and they almost always end when the good stuff is about to start.

"Rochelle?"

Rachel squinted when he called her the wrong name for what felt like the 100th time. She didn't have the confidence to tell him he was making errors with her name though, she was simply enjoying being by his side.

Finn was sitting in front of the slot machine, his hand on the lever waiting for hers to attach to it. They have been winning non-stop, that was no fantasy, but Finn was so consumed in the coins to even notice Rachel as she stood awkwardly by his side.

It was nowhere near what was going on in her head, but still the simplest touch of him on her made her knees weak, she definitely was hooked. He could walk all over her and she wouldn't care, as long as he was noticing her enough to walk.

It was unhealthy and completely irrational, but what else did she have? What other choice did she have than to sit back and take it? To her, this was better than him not knowing she existed at all, so what if she was Rochelle to him? She was still somebody.

"Why don't you go get us some drinks?" Finn said suddenly, not looking at Rachel but at his friends from across the room.

The right thing to do would tell this guy to go get his own drink, but Rachel began to walk to the bar nonetheless.

"Can I have two cokes please?" She asked the bartender. She turned her back to face the room when she saw Santana coming her way.

"Hey, haven't seen you all night" the Latina said as she ordered a drink

"Oh, you know…Don't really want to brag or anything…just been hanging out with Finn, it's no bid deal." Rachel tried to play off her excitement as anything but, but Santana could see right through her.

"Oh really…and how's the winner treating you?"

"Just fine, if you must know"

Rachel could feel Santana's eyes on her, they've only known each other for a short amount of time, but Santana knew a lot about Rachel and could tell when she wasn't being completely honest.

"Rochelle! Are you coming with our drinks or what?" Rachel saw Finn from across the room waving her down, and he couldn't have called at her at a worst time.

"You better go Rochelle, your man is waiting for you"

Rachel didn't even want to look at the smug grin on Santana's face.

"Shut up" Rachel muttered under her breath as she grabbed onto the glasses on the bar and began to walk towards Finn. She handed him his glass and she got herself lost into the beauty of his face.

"Okay…" Finn said to distract Rachel, getting a bit uncomfortable with her longing looks, "Let's get back to where we were…winning me coins"

Their routine went on, and Rachel continued to stand by his side as they simultaneously pulled the lever.

Rachel turned her head quickly as she heard the sound of a woman scream; followed by the sound of glass breaking.

"Get your hands off of me!" The older Latina yelled, obviously drunk as one of the waiters tried to help her up after she crashed into a smaller waiter.

Rachel watched as a bunch of people circled around her, holding in their laughter as the drunken woman yelled on the floor and pushing people off of her, stumbling as she tried to get up.

Santana pushed through the crowd trying to get her mother, struggling to get her on her feet and to get her quiet.

"Wow, some people can't hold their fucking liquor, what a sloppy drunk" Finn laughed out, "Come on Rachel, we still have some winning to do"

Rachel lost her breath in her throat as his hand touched hers, he called her Rachel. She had a huge urge to go back with him, it was Finn after all. But from across the room, she made eye contact with Santana, her eyes sad and her face flushed with embarrassment.

A month ago Rachel would have turned and walked away with Finn, but her friend was across the room and needed her help.

"Sorry" Rachel quickly said before walking quickly to Santana's side, helping to get her mother off the ground and out of the room, away from the stuck-up onlookers.

Santana's mom wrapped her arms around the two girls' shoulder as they escorted her to the car, "I'm so sorry" she kept repeating, "I'm so so sorry".

Rachel couldn't get to sleep that night. She lay awake staring at the ceiling, images of her night flashing through her mind. She wanted to stay with Finn, but she knew she needed to help her friend. Santana was the only one she felt her absolute self with, she couldn't screw that up by Finn being a priority over her, it wasn't fair.

Rachel's lips turned into a smile as she thought of Finn. He actually said her real name, sure he wasn't the most pleasant guy, but she could see flashes of the true him throughout the night. When his friends weren't looking she could see his full smile, something she hasn't seen him show off the football field. She knew he was in there, the real Finn, and he was dying to come out.

Morning finally came for a restless Rachel as the sun peered in through her window. She went downstairs after pulling her hair into a ponytail and saw Santana and her dads sitting around the kitchen table.

"Where's Mrs. Lopez?" Rachel questioned as she reached for a bagel.

"Um…Santana will be staying with us now"

Rachel cocked her head quickly to the side to see it for herself; did her dad, Leroy Berry, just say that Santana will be staying with them? And did he use it with a straight face…with maybe a hint of a smile?

"Wait…what?" Rachel shook her head, not believing a word her dad was saying.

"Her mother had to leave…unexpectedly, and your father and I thought it'd be best for Santana if she stayed here…permanently"

Each person in the room other than Rachel had to block their ears from the loud scream that escaped Rachel's throat.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!" She yelled and her dads laughed a little at her excitement.

Rachel ran across the kitchen to Santana and pulled her up from the chair, giving her a strong and warm embrace.

Santana stuck out her finger and began to push it against Rachel's forehead, forcing her to drop the embrace.

"Alright, let's get one thing straight, I don't hug"

"Um, hello…you're a Berry now, you hug" Santana rolled her eyes as Rachel clung to her once more.

"This is gonna be so much fun!" Rachel squealed.

"Yeah, it's gonna be a blast" Santana groaned. Though she couldn't hide her smile. She was finally part of a family.


End file.
